


History repeatin'

by Jezmatron



Series: Space Captain Catra [2]
Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Angella is a coward, Betrayal, F/F, Gunplay, Negotiations, and being stupid, bar brawl, don't mess with this adora, dumbasses tried to con adora, space, trying her best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:42:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26911588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jezmatron/pseuds/Jezmatron
Summary: Adora goes about her life, tries to eke out a living on the frontier. Her actions have consequences.A semi-sequel in the Space Captain Catra series. A little insight into Adora, more mystery around her and her past.What do we do when duty fades and our commitments don't matter? When you have nothing left to lose?
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Series: Space Captain Catra [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1935604
Comments: 25
Kudos: 54





	History repeatin'

It had been a ridiculously long and  _ boring _ week. Bar the slight incident with that Imperial vessel, the rest of the time had been spent scavenging among the rubble and detritus of what was left of Thaymor III. It was  _ dull _ and it meant she’d had a lot of time to  _ think _ . Which mainly just made her wish she was spending that time  _ drunk _ instead.

The computer beeped a confirmation as Adora typed in the confirmation code. With a sigh, she stretched and reached above her head to the overhead systems panel to flick a few of the sub system switches. Around her,  _ Swift Wind _ shuddered as power rerouted to the main thrusters. She stretched as best she could in the cramped cockpit, then leaned to check another readout.

Her two containers were secure in the tow-line behind her and the LIDAR system was showing no other vessels within several thousand kilometers. She’d noticed a few more drone scouts - clearly  _ her _ relief fleet had arrived and that meant that they could expect some more nosey neighbours. 

Which meant Adora was going to catch more grief when she got back to the Hub.

She leaned back into the worn faux-leather of the pilots chain and patted the console, “Guess we better head back to the farm, eh?”

With a wince, she rolled her shoulders and reached to the autopilot console, then tapped in a series of co-ordinates to set up transit waypoints through several safe approaches. The belt moved slowly and there were several established routes that kept vessels within the sensor-mask of the debris field. The orbit of the rocks around the star was fairly uniform, which meant navigators didn’t have to update the charts too often. A minor blessing, considering most out here couldn’t afford a decent automated navigation system, let alone a decent AI system.

Or rather a non homicidal AI system.

She settled back as the ship shuddered forwards, taking her away from her latest prospect - ice crystals buried within a sizeable chunk of former-planetary crust. A warning chimed and Adora had to manually adjust the course - whilst the routes didn’t change  _ much _ they did change… and it was likely to be worse on the other side of the belt, after her little impromptu duel with the Imperial forces. Those missiles and all that debris would have knocked the rocks around like billiard balls.

Yeah she was going to keep catching heat for that. No matter she’d single handedly stopped a  _ cruiser _ . No concern that she’d bloodied the nose of their oppressors. 

_ Your former friends _ came the traitorous voice of her subconscious.

No, instead she would probably be  _ chided _ .

Adora glanced over her shoulder, through the small hatch that lead from the cockpit to her (laughable) living quarters - little more than a corridor with a bunk on one side and a cubicle shower-cum-toilet adjacent to lockers on the other.

Her home these past few days as she laid low, to ensure she wasn’t being tracked. And to ensure she had a decent enough haul from her stashed containers and mining operations. The Hub needed material and it covered her hangar fees, as well as some  _ decent _ rack time.

The computer bleeped again, then again and Adora tried not to think about her encounter. She tried not to  _ worry _ . About what she refused to acknowledge. She wasn’t  _ worried _ about being found; no one cared that much. Desertion was common enough. And she wasn’t  _ worried _ about Catra’s fate. Not at all. Nope.

  
The girl was a survivor. Fiercely independent. She wouldn’t  _ tolerate _ anyone trying to haul her back.

Definitely not worried about it.

And she certainly wasn’t worried that  _ no one _ would follow her. That she  _ would _ be forgotten. And this was  _ it _ .

She huffed and banged the back of her head against the pilot’s chair, then refocused on the navigation console - four out of seven waypoints down. She’d do a manual approach, just in case as well. LIDAR was still clear, though with all the debris there could be  _ something _ out there.

Unlikely though - she’d had some pretty  _ extensive _ modifications done on  _ Swift Wind _ . plus all that  _ illicit alien tech _ she’d ended up wiring into the ship did give her an edge.

The journey was uneventful, though it did give Adora time to review her other survey data -a few promising strikes, some carbon deposits, some xenon, along with iron ore and other base metals she could barter into the Hub’s markets.

She glanced up as her comm crackled to life. It was subtle, indicating an open channel  _ somewhere _ . On most warships it’d be an idle curiosity but perhaps dismissed as natural frequency disruption. And the Hub tower controllers were savvy enough to  _ not _ open a channel with anything that looked remotely  _ military _ .

She tapped a command on her communication terminal and green text scrolled across the tiny screen as her identification pign went out. There was a tense moment of silence, then more text scrolled by and a voice piped up.

_ “Clear. Bay two. Over.” _

“Roger, Bay two. Out.” she answered curtly and the line cut.

Her ship angled through a thicket of smaller rocks and she spotted her destination - a larger chunk a good couple of kilometres across and even more tall. She rolled the ship carefully, to keep her towed cargo from flying off in a crazy spin and dragging _ Swift Wind _ into a dangerous spiral.As she watched, part of the rock rumbled open and shimmered, revealed as a holographic cover.

With practiced ease, Adora moved to full manual control and then held her hand near the tow line release. With care she angled her ship , then applied her thrusters laterally and to the fore, slowing her approach. Her ship coasted to the side and she flicked the release on the tow-lines, then watched as her two containers floated gently into the bay ahead. Satisfied they were safely secured, she pushed her ship forwards into the belly of the rock.

Beyond the bay-doors sat a fairly rudimentary hangar, sealed from the dangerous vacuum of space by an energy bubble. Ahead, she saw her containers being crappled by cargo cranes, there being no artificial gravity in the bay itself. The bay itself wasn’t  _ huge _ but it did have eight landing slots; little more than metal octagons with painted numbers atop them. Only three were occupied, showing small tugs and a single fighter-class ship. All looked like they’d seen better days.

_ Swift Wind _ landed with a thud and Adora finally  _ finally _ relaxed into the chair.She ran a hand over her face, then dragged it down with a sigh as, before going through the basic shut-down sequence for the ship - thrusters, landing brakes, engine cycle down, the works. Then she slid a data-chip into the manifest terminal to bring up her recent data.

She scrounged up her flight-jacket from the lockers, then checked her wrist - the bracelet was still there. She didn’t know  _ why _ she checked - wasn’t like the damn thing ever came off. Not since she’d found the  _ device _ . The gold and blue of the metal around her wrist felt reassuring  _ and _ like a shackle at times. It seemed to pulse in time with her heartbeat.

And in time with the extra  _ upgrade _ that now sat in  _ Swift Wind’s _ systems.

She chewed her lip and tapped the bracelet which pulsed red for a moment, then seemed to hum as an answering tone thrummed from within the ship. With a nod to herself she clambered out of the access hatch on the side of her ship, engaging the magnetic clamps on her boots as she did so to allow the force to gently pull her to the landing pad’s surface.

A dock-marshall awaited her and wordlessly handed over a data pad. She scanned through it and then placed her own data chip into the pad, which flickered with her updated details - flight plan, current cargo and the donation to the Hub from said cargo. She handed the pad back after retrieving her chip and nodded to the marshal who smiled in return, his pudgy features genuinely pleased, “Welcome back, ‘Dora.”

“Eh, thanks Brody. Angie on site?”

“Aye. You do something to rattle her?”

“Ehh… probably.”

The man peered at her then grinned, “Oh that was  _ you _ _. _ Well, best get your drinks in now, eh?”

Adora flapped a hand at the man and wandered awkwardly across the pad, the metal boots clamping and releasing as she walked, headed for the access tunnel to the base proper.

Beyond the hangar bay, artificial gravity kicked in and she was able to disengage her boots to allow for  _ normal _ , not waddle-walking. She made a bee-line for the bar.

The base interior was, basically, rock. Sealed, air tight, but still exposed  _ rock _ . No windows to the outside universe - for one, because they were structural weaknesses and two, because they were also  _ security _ weaknesses. So, instead she had dry grey walls and exposed piping to break up the monotony.

The bar was relatively close to the hangar, near what was cheerfully called the  _ commerce district _ . That was basically a larger chamber with some stalls and a merchant terminal or two for transactions. The bar was set off to one side, down another access tunnel.

Adora entered and slumped at the bar. A tumbler slid across the metal surface, filled halfway with a cool amber liquid. Adora glanced up and managed a half smile, “Thanks Glim.”

The bartender, a short woman with friendly, slightly round features and a shock of pink hair, shrugged, “Look like you need it, Adora. Plus it’s a thank you.”

“For what?”

“Brody already fired up the list -  _ water _ Adora - we were about to hit reserves and you’ve brought two tonnes of it in!”

Adora shrugged, “You guys  _ need _ to fix the recyclers.”

“We need better  _ parts _ . Done what we can and Bow is working double shifts with the engineering crews. He’s got them stripping out  _ anything _ that can’t fly anymore and repurposing. So, yeah, you came back at the right time.”

Adora took a slow slug of the moonshine and winced, “This from ‘Fuma’s latest crop?”

“Yep. She managed to make them  _ spicy _ . She’ll be glad of the water too.”

“We do what we can. Frontier life is hard.”

“Amen to that,” Glimmer glanced across the room and frowned, “Six oclock.”

Adora grunted and nodded. She’s spotted the group when she’d entered - dusty coveralls, grease stained skin and surly expressions. Hardly unknown in the Hub, it being an illicit trade centre and mining  _ town _ (for want of a better word). But the gents sat around one of the small metal tables were clearly  _ new _ to the region. And they were eyeing her with clear irritation. Adora placed the tumbler on the countertop and rolled it slowly, her eyes locked on the slow slosh of the amber liquid within. Behind her, she heard the scratch of chair legs against decking and the unsteady thump of feet. Glimmer gave her a look and Adora managed a half shrug, then lifted the glass to sink the last of her drink.

One of the miners slumped against the bar next to her. He was human, with a low brown and what looked to be a permanent scowl etched into his ruddy features. There were two more behind her - a lizard and another human, if her lazy glance around the room had been any indication.

Luckily it was quiet time - non chance of a full on  _ brawl _ . She doubted security-chief Juliette would be happy with this anyway, so good it wouldn’t escalate.

Adora studied the glass in her hand and ignored the man. He sneered and slapped a hand in front of her. When he spoke, his voice was an attempt at intimidating.

“‘S an interesting jacket.”

Adora glanced sideways at him, “Yep.”

“Looks  _ military _ .”

She placed the glass back down on the bar top and nodded, “It was.”

“We don’t  _ like _ the military.”

“We share a conviction then, friend.”

“Ain’t no friend of  _ Horde _ scum.”

Adora rolled her eyes and saw the small smirk on Glimmer's face - clearly the girl was happy to let this play out. The pilot turned her face to the belligerent and sighed, “You see a Horde flash on this? Any patches?”

“Can rip ‘em off, the stain’s still there.”

Her smile was  _ not _ pleasant, “Oh, that I know. Bet your skidmarks are similar, right?”

The man’s sneer deepened, “We don’t like your kind hereabouts.”

“Funny, because I haven’t  _ seen _ you  _ hereabouts _ before now. Let’s agree that you don’t like ex-mil, I’ll maintain my opinion that you’re dust trash and we can just get on with our  _ favourite _ hobby of getting drunk and  _ forgetting _ .”

“Military  _ killed _ my sister. Took my  _ home _ . And now you’re drinkin’ here, not a care in the world?”

Adora met his gaze and nodded slowly, “I’m sorry your sister died.”

That seemed to set him off. He lunged at her, but she merely caught his wrists and spun in her chair. The move sent the man sprawling past her, onto the bar floor. She didn’t waste a moment and stood. The second human stepped up with a wild haymaker that Adora leaned back from. She planted one foot on the bar front, then shoved forwards with a sharp jab that smacked into the man’s solar plexus. He went down, wheezing.

The lizard hissed and swung its tail behind it, then swiped a claw. Adora ducked under the swing, then slapped a backhand across the creature’s snout with her right hand. The thing yelped as it’s sensitive nostrils flared, but Adora didn’t stop. Her left hand slapped against the side of the creature’s head and she  _ gripped _ and yanked. Her momentum made the creature stumble and she slammed it’s jaw against the bar-top. The reptile blinked at the impact, then slid to the floor.

The first man was back up and had yanked a wrench from his belt. Adora growled and rolled her shoulders. The man swung wildly and Adora didn’t give him a chance to build up another swing. One pass and she step forwards with a practiced, hard jab to the man’s face. He staggered back and slumped to the floor, then fell backwards.

Adora hissed and shook her hand, letting the pain bloom across her knuckles, “Glass jawed  _ idiot _ ,” with a grunt, she stepped over the unconscious reptile and ignored the wheezing miner, then sat back at the bar stool and tapped the empty glass in front of her, “Hit me, Glim.”

“Yeah, uh,  _ nope _ . But I can get you a drink,” the bartender grinned, “Fifteen seconds, new record.”

“Not keeping score. He’s an ass. But an ass with a good grudge.”

“Why, did you pull the trigger?”

Adora shrugged and brought the glass to her lips. The drink burned again, but not enough to sear the memories, “Nope. But I  _ enabled _ that shit. Good little soldier for so long. Did my best, but really… isn’t that what we all say?”

The sound of boots hitting plate decking echoed in the bar and Adora sighed again. A stern voice rang out, “Gray.”

“Hey Juliette. Nice timing,” Adora didn’t turn, “Don’t be too hard on ‘em. Drunk and with a bad case of trauma. Not my fault, the trauma bit.”

The woman at the bar entrance sighed, “Every damn  _ time _ Gray.”   
  


“Not my fault if people start shit.”   
  


“Just… why the jacket?”

“What, it’s a good jacket.”

“It’s provocative,” Adora sipped her drink and shrugged again, but offered no response, “What he do?”

“Blames me for his sister’s death. Or whatever excuse to try taking on a lone woman in a bar.”

“Angella wants to see you.”

Adora huffed, “Figures. Can I finish my drink?”

“Doubt I could stop you.”

“Good call,” Adora graciously sank the drink and nodded to Glimmer who flashed her a sympathetic smile.

“Say hi to mom for me.”   
  


Adora chuckled, nodded again and stood. At the bar entrance stood three women, one with her platinum and brown hair half shaved on one side. The other two had helmets on. The had standard military-style gear, tarnished silver chest-armour and drab olive coveralls beneath. Not Imperial standard, more local-militia-on-a-budget. Adora strode past them and glared as one guard tried to grab her arm. The leader raised a hand and nodded at Adora.

“This way.”

“I figured, Juliette. What’s it about?”

“Think you know.”

“Yeah, well, like to make sure.”

They moved quickly through the corridors into a slightly better kept part of the base. A door opened into an operations centre - a holographic map of the system showed the various stellar bodies, the belt and a few faint dots to illustrate potential ship locations. The room bustled with techs and the chatter of communication stations.

Adora marched through it with her escort, paying the chaos no mind - like most civilian installations, there was a relaxed air to the place, a sedateness. Not the protocol heavy intensity of her military command rooms or even the more practice focus of the regional headquarters.

And yet it worked, despite that. Professionalism was still there. It was still strange to acknowledge after her history, that it  _ could _ exist outside of martial structure.

Another door led into a small office, the bare rock walls covered in steel and sporting a few monitors that scrawled through local information - solar flares, transit data, the usual.

A desk dominated the room, covered in paperwork. ACTUAL paper too. Data pads and a computer readout took up the rest. And behind the desk sat  _ Angella _ .

Tall, willowy, with a face that seemed carved from marble. Her pale skin and high features were almost elfin, in stark contrast to her more stout daughter. Her hair, lilac in colour, flowed across her shoulders like a waterfall. She was, to put it mildly, beautiful. But her eyes were tired. She frowned at Adora, then gestured to the chair across from her.

“Captain Gray. I am in somewhat of a predicament.”

Adora’s instinct was to sit upright, fists on knees, in the  _ seated attention _ pose, drilled in by the Academy. Instead, she leaned back in the chair and eyed Angella.

“Sounds frustrating, Mrs Moon,” If the woman was going with titles, then Adora was going to be equally as obnoxious. She could tell the guards had arrayed themselves beside the door and Juliette was stood off to one side and behind her. Hard to shake those old instincts. Adora kept her gaze steady on Angella, however.

The woman pursed her lips and folded her hands on the desk, “Your submitted gun camera footage was… yes, well,  _ very _ interesting. But it does rather cause a concern. You have become a  _ person of interest _ , no doubt, to any bounty hunter, Imperial commander and pirate band out there. And that, of course… brings risk to  _ us _ .”

Adora nodded slowly, “Fine. I’ll sell my stuff and be on my way.”

The woman huffed, “We… we will need that material. The presence of Imperial forces in systems means we…”

Adora snorted, “You’re impounding  _ my _ claims to prepare for a fight, right? A fight you won’t  _ actually _ commit to, because you’re going to turtle.”

“Captain Gray, you bloodied the nose of an Imperial Commander! Why you didn’t just… finish them off…”

“You think  _ killing _ them would stop them? Better a wrecked ship and an implausible story than a  _ missing _ ship.”

Angella frowned, “Excuse me?”

“What, you think Imperial Command will  _ buy _ that a seasoned vessel, crew and commander were bested by a  _ mining tug _ ? No, you’re  _ safe _ , Angella.” Adora folded her arms, “Any more ships are standard resupply unit patrols.”

The woman pursed her lips, “Cap…  _ Adora _ … you have been very helpful in preparing us, advising us… but this… this was too much. It draws attention! You should have…”

“Should have run? They fired first. And what, a slow-ass tug books it? I had no idea if they’d track me, if they had other ships. Better to at least try to fight them and go down,” her voice was monotone and she saw Angella twitch, “You’d rather I’d have run and  _ maybe _ lead them here? Or you’d rather I died out there?”

She heard Juliette shuffle awkwardly and Angella spoke, “No… not at all Adora.”

“No, come on, be  _ honest _ here. I’m useful. But I’m still ex-imperial. I’m  _ still _ an unknown.”

“We… well, you have helped us, but we do need that material and…”

“Then  _ buy _ it, Angella. I’m scrimping here. Confiscating my shit under a flimsy excuse… what’s your game here?”

The woman’s frown deepened, “We will… also need  _ Swift Wind.” _

Adora sat back and her smile twisted, “Ahhhhh.”

There was a tension in the room and Angella coughed, “The vessel… you handled them amazingly, I will admit. And… if they come back, we need that capability. We can integrate it into our own ships, stand a chance if the Imperials come back in force.”

She heard Juliette adjust her stance behind her and Adora sighed. She thought:  _ get ready _ . On her wrist the bracelet glowed for a moment, “So… you want to steal my gear. My stakes. But I’m the issue?”

“As you said… ex military. And the fact you didn’t… kill them implies some sort of lingering attachment, perhaps?”

“And if I say no?”

“You are hardly in a position to…” alarms blared and the guards startled. Angella blinked in surprise. Adora stayed still, arms folded, gaze fixed on the woman. Angella tapped a button on her desk, “What is happening?”

_ “Ma’am! Docking bay two, one of the ships… it just stood up!” _

“Stood up what... “ she stared at Adora, “What did you do?”

Adora shrugged, “I’m sat here.  _ You _ wanted  _ Swift Wind _ , how about a demo.”

_ “Ma’am! The mech it… it just smashed one of the ships!” _

“Stop it! Stop it now!”

Adora heard the whine of a charging blaster and felt the pressure of the barrel against the back of her head. She didn’t flinch, just stared at Angella, “So, your plan is to  _ kill me _ . Wonder how my machine, which apparently self activated without me doing anything will react to you  _ killing me _ .”

Angella glanced at Juliette and Adora felt the pressure remove itself and smiled thinly, barely a notch above a sneer. Angella gritted her teeth, “You would put us all at risk?”

“You pulled a gun on me, Angella. What would it take? My ship has a mining laser and this place is just one big rock. A few seconds and I can make a decent hull breach. Don’t get me wrong, I love Glimmer, think Bow’s a  _ good guy _ . But you. Pulled. A fucking.  _ Gun _ .”

She could tell Juliette was a moment away from risking it when the comm opened up, “ _ Ma’am! The mech just tore off one of the cargo cranes. It… it’s aiming at the air lock.” _

The women kept eye contact and Angella blinked first; Adora’s eyes remained flat and steady, “What do you want?”

“Fair pay for a fair day’s work. You can have my cargo. Just compensate me. And then I’ll be on my way. Let you fight your little war of hide and seek until they eventually find you  _ anyway _ .”

Angella licked her lips and placed her palms on the desk, “Get your… machine to stand down.”

“Nah. He’s going to stay upright until I’m out of here. Because it’s damn clear I’m  _ not _ welcome.”

Adora stood abruptly and she felt Juliette raise the pistol again in her periphery. The other two guards had their hands on their side arms. Slowly, Adora turned to regard the Security chief. The woman held the pistol steady and was a few feet away. Adora exhaled and held her hands up. Juliette frowned and then blinked in shock as Adora shot forwards.

Her left hand gripped the barrel and pushed it up, so the blast singed the ceiling. Juliette grunted as the pistol twisted her fingers then gasped as she realised Adora now had the weapon in hand.

And had the barrell against Juliette’s forehead. Adora pushed it gently and the security chief gasped in shock as the warm barrel nudged her skin. The Pilot kept her eyes on the security chief, but spoke over her shoulder, “You never even considered option B did you?”

Angella stared at her and then smiled. Adora caught it in her periphery and frowned faintly. The station chief waved at the two guards by the door. The pair exchanged a look, then backed out of the room slowly. Angella exhaled and nodded slowly, “Adora… please could you… not kill my security chief? Castaspella would be most put out.”

Adora pursed her lips and tilted her head. She was angry, but it was more a muted  _ weariness _ . She’d been angry for so long, so wrung out she didn’t  _ feel _ it as harshly any more. With a huff, she shoved the pisto forwards, which sent the security chief stumbling back against the wall, “Guess this means we won’t be doing poker night anymore, huh Juliette?”

The woman looked over at Angella who was still staring at Adora. For her part, Adora lowered the pistol and turned to Angella who held up her hands placatingly, “Adora, my apologies this… was ill advised of me. You can understand my desire to pro-”

“Shut up.”

The woman stiffened, “I was…”

“You try to stiff me, after I help you guys establish a decent security process and protocol. You try to  _ kill _ me after I see off a  _ scouting _ party. What next? I’m done with game playing Angella. That’s  _ Imperial _ level bullshit.”   
  


“How d-”   
  


“Don’t. You don’t even believe what you’re saying. Frankly, after this, you aren’t worth the blaster shot.”

Adora turned to leave but Angella practically shouted at her.

“Please!”

The blonde paused, then turned, then smiled, “Oh, politeness?”

“I… I wanted the ship, yes. And can you  _ blame _ me for being cautious?”

“I thought we had a better relationship than that, Angella.”

“You’re threatening my  _ daughter _ right now. I think I’m being rather measured.”

“I wouldn’t be, if you weren’t trying to stiff me on my claims.”

Angella waved a hand, “I always… always start negotiations hard. To take the measure. I have… overstepped here.”

“You  _ miscalculated _ , pretty obvious.”

“Well, I didn’t expect your ship to be… well, yes. It’s how we survive, Adora.”

“A veneer of respectability, but really just well dressed pirates? I’m sure Glimmer’d be oh-so-proud.”

Angella had the good grace to wince and nodded, “We’re… in a tenuous spot and… we  _ need _ those materials.”

Adora rubbed the bridge of her nose, “And how long d’ya think you’d last once it gets out that you just  _ seize _ cargo when you’re in a tough spot? That if someone has a nice ship, you’ll help yourself?”

“You took out a  _ cruiser _ . We were… spooked,” Angella folded her hands, “And... I am being rash.”   
  


“Yeah, see, that’s the other stupid part. Yeah you’d have a fancy ship… but do you have any decent pilots?” Juliette opened her mouth and Adora raised the pistol without looking at her, “Your sim scores are abysmal, shut up.”

Angella wrung her hands and slumped, “This was… foolish. I wanted to see if you had gumption, fire. And if you caved, we could have.. Taken your ship. I wanted you to show some  _ zeal _ or commitment.”

Adora rolled her eyes, “Stop with the damn  _ games _ Angella. Stop pretending you’re some courtly lady rather than a station boss in a shitty attempt at rebellion where you don’t even  _ fight _ . You ain’t in the capital any more. Speak your mind.”

The station chief frowned then sagged, “Yes, well… this hasn’t exactly panned out as I wished. My apologies Adora, I see now I should have tried a different tack.”

Adora looked at the pistol in her hand and, briefly, contemplated just blowing away the woman in front of her. She’d have to fight her way out, maybe kill some more people. She’d done it before. Not  _ quite _ to this level, but combat wasn’t exactly strange to her. She might have to hurt some familiar faces, but right now, with that muted anger under the surface it was  _ deadly tempting _ .

“So you say. Hardly a good way to establish a cordial accord, Mrs Moon.”

Angella nodded and sighed, “I tried hardball when… it is not my best approach. Forgive me, for I acted out of a sense of misplaced authority and… fear.”

“You thought I was a washed up veteran who wouldn’t want trouble and who you’d give a paltry severance to  _ compensate _ me. Or stick me in maintenance under some shitty house arrest, right? Seen it before. Rarely works out. Should’ve just shot me in the bar.”

The station chief winced, “That… would’ve been hardly… the best.”

“Eh, you wanted to condemn me to a slow death by stealing my livelihood. Don’t pretend you’re about  _ niceties _ Angie. Fact is, you can’t  _ threaten _ someone who doesn’t  _ care _ . Who has  _ nothing _ left to really lose anymore.  _ Nothing _ .”   
  


Angella actually leaned back, her gaze held by Adora’s flat, blue gaze. She took a shuddering breath, “You can see our… perspective though.”

“Not really. You seemed happy for my advice before this. If you thought I was some sleeper agent… well, frankly I don’t care. Now, we’re done. I’m going. You can all…. Just leave me alone.”   
  


Angella raised her hands desperately, “I… yes this was an  _ awful _ decision. And frankly, I,  _ we, _ want to work with you Adora. I thought this way I could see what you believed in,” Adora laughed at that.

“A confession of  _ loyalty _ at gunpoint. Damn Angella, you are dumb.”

The woman huffed but nodded, “So, yes. Yes I am. And… this may be bad timing and may seem reactionary and insincere but…. We can pay you.”

Adora paused, then walked back to the chair. Idly, she played with the pistol, then smiled thinly at Angella, “Well now. Why didn’t you open with  _ that _ ?”

\--------

Half an hour later, Adora was back in the bar. She gazed at the amber fluid in front of her then looked up to meet Glimmer’s gaze.

“I told her she was being stupid.”

Adora nodded, “Yep.”

“Told her that trying to intimidate wouldn’t work.”

“Mhmhm.”   
  


“Juliette said so too.”

“I’ll bet.”   
  


Glimmer swallowed and gazed at Adora, “Would… would you have spaced us?”

Adora studied the drink some more, silent. Then she slung it back and hissed at the burn. The glass hit the bartop with a faint  _ clunk _ . She stood and heaved a sigh, “Thanks for the drink Glim.”

She turned and walked out of the bar. The three stooges from earlier cringed as she walked past. Down the corridors she wended her way. Station crew flinched as she passed them until she got to the hangar bay. Juliette lounged against the wall next to it and gave a stiff nod as Adora paused, “Hey. Um.. so..”

Adora stared at her impassively, then fished the pistol out from her belt. She kept her eyes on the security chief as, calmly, she disassembled the weapon smoothly; barrel, heat sink, battery pack, fuel cell. Each component she dropped onto the floor with a  _ clunk _ . The security chief stared at her as she did this. Adora leaned forward, “Angella’s an  _ ass _ . A coward. An  _ idiot _ . She needs to stop thinking politically and start thinking  _ militarily _ . Day to day isn’t going to save  _ any  _ of you. Next time you try this sort of  _ shit _ I will end you.”

Juliette tried for a stern look but Adora stepped forward and twitched. Juliette nodded and sagged, “It was…. Dumb.”   
  


“Yeah. I know. She needs to use that silver tongue to persuade some other crews to  _ work _ together. Not hide in this rock and hope the Imps don’t find you. Punishing me for surviving? Dumb. Trying to steal my stuff. Dumb. Trying to steal my ship?  _ Suicidal _ .”

Juliette nodded, “It won’t happen again,” she managed through clenched teeth. Adora nodded.

“Good. Now, I’m gonna fly out of here to get some rest. Because I sure as hell don’t  _ trust _ any of you right now. Well done.”   
  


The security chief had the grace to look guilty. Amateurs. Adora stalked to her ship, which folded down from its mech configuration. Across the bay smoldered the wreck of one of the deck-pads and the sparking remnants of a cargo crane floated in the low gravity.

She’d gotten compensated for the cargo. And now she had a retainer for  _ security _ and patrols. A transactional relationship, but one she could at least now measure and track.

Ultimately, it was still another bitter reminder about  _ trust _ . About  _ faith _ . About being  _ complacent _ .

Seemed like history had a horrible way of repeating the lesson. She clambered into the ship and sealed the hatch, then leaned her forehead against the cool metal while she forced down the lump in her throat.

_ No place like home _ . Because there was no place. Home had always been a  _ who _ rather than a  _ where _ . And this was a sign she couldn’t really let her guard down, that people would always try to play games, to take if they felt vulnerable. That they’d be stupid or greedy.

She closed her eyes and had to push away memories of gold and blue. The words begging her to  _ stay.  _ That they could  _ make it _ together.

That had been a harsh joke. The reality would have been light years of separation; wars; suffering and secrecy. But the desperation had stung. Her own pleading that they could  _ run _ . The bitter mockery that followed.

And the fact that those eyes had  _ reported her _ . In a vain attempt to at least get her to stay, to be confined. Imprisoned, but at least  _ there _ .

Adora slammed a fist against the hatch and hissed at the pain. But at least she still felt pain. With a growl, she stalked to the cockpit and clambered in, then cycled the engines.

_ No place like home _ . If that felt empty, then maybe the empty beyond would have to suffice as home for now. She send a curt request for launch, received a nervy response, then rocketed out into the black beyond.

_ No place. _

_ No home. _

**Author's Note:**

> A little slice of life vignette. I could stick it in one story buuuut that puts expectations on chapters and so forth. This way we get a little look at the world.
> 
> May give Glimbow their own story in a bit.


End file.
